Sunday, April 26, 2009
26 April - Day 54. Our long stay in Green Turtle Cay has been mostly weather related. While there's currently high pressure over the Bahamas, a steep pressure gradient has kept the winds at 20+ kts, from the ESE, for the last week. Cruising north in the Sea of Abaco is a little bumpy but doable. South, for us, is not an option because of the Whale Cay rounding and the very big seas there. Having already explored Manjack Cay we went farther north today and explored Powell Cay. It's uninhabited with beautiful, white sand beaches on its east and west sides. Attention must be paid to navigation as shoals abound. Entering a big bay on the NW side we find four other cruisers at anchor. We dingy ashore and walk across the island as we've heard the snorkeling is great on the east side's reefs. After walking only a few hundred yards we discover a huge, reef fringed, shallow bay. Because of the high winds we skip swimming and go shelling instead. There are lots of sand dollars and conch. Later, while buzzing around in the dingy, we see a 6' nurse shark and many large, black sting rays. This area is known for its bone fishing. They are everywhere. At anchor in Powell Cay, Bahamas. 27nm today: 1329nm total. DBH
